Field of the Invention
The present disclosure generally relates to physical merchant locations, and more particularly to systems and methods for determining customer selections in physical merchant locations.
Related Art
More and more consumers are purchasing items and services over electronic networks such as, for example, the Internet. Consumers routinely purchase products and services from merchants and individuals alike. The transactions may take place directly between a conventional or on-line merchant or retailer and the consumer, and payment is typically made by entering credit card or other financial information. Transactions may also take place with the aid of an on-line or mobile payment service provider such as, for example, PayPal, Inc. of San Jose, Calif. Such payment service providers can make transactions easier and safer for the parties involved. Purchasing with the assistance of a payment service provider from the convenience of virtually anywhere using a mobile device is one main reason why on-line and mobile purchases are growing very quickly.
Some payment service providers provide online and mobile payment services for merchants with physical merchant locations. For example, payment service providers may provide the online and/or mobile payment services discussed above to allow customers to purchase products offered by a merchant at a physical merchant location. In some situations, merchant may provide products, product indicators, and/or other product-related items in the physical merchant location such that they are physically inaccessible to customers. For example, merchants may provide products behind a store window or in a display case (e.g., jewelry), may provide product indicators behind a counter (e.g., a menu including food products for sale), and/or may provide a variety of other product-related items in a variety of customer-inaccessible locations known in the art. When products and product indicators are provided by a merchant such that they are physically inaccessible to customers, this requires the customers to point, gesture towards, or otherwise attempt to indicate to the merchant a selection of the product or product indicator. In response, the merchant must then guess which of the products or product identifiers the customer has selected in order to provide that product (or information about that product) to the customer. The need for the merchant to guess which of a plurality of products a customer has selected is error-prone, time consuming, and frustrating for both the merchant and the customer.
Thus, there is a need for an improved customer selection determination system.
Embodiments of the present disclosure and their advantages are best understood by referring to the detailed description that follows. It should be appreciated that like reference numerals are used to identify like elements illustrated in one or more of the figures, wherein showings therein are for purposes of illustrating embodiments of the present disclosure and not for purposes of limiting the same.